Chapter 16
"Local law says that no church or synagogue can be taller than the shortest mosque in the area."
"So some joker built a mosque that is five feet tall just to make the Christians and Jews unhappy?"
"It looks that way," Oscar answered with a grin.
Georgia looked down at the roof of the decrepit building. The roof was about four feet about the ground. It was hard to believe that Oscar was taller than the building. She said, "I know you are short, but how can you possibly stand up in that building?"
He held a hand up to his neck. His hand was about the same height off of the ground as the roof. He squatted so that his head was below his hand. Oscar laughed at the expression on Georgia's face. Standing, he said, "The churches and synagogues in the area are built into the ground rather than above it. There's plenty of room to stand up inside the building."
Shaking her head, Georgia said, "I guess people can find ways around even the most arbitrary law."
She followed him around to the front of the building. From there, it was easy to see that the majority of the building was underground. She stopped at the top of the steps leading down to the door and turned back to watch the people coming to worship. Expecting to see people with Semitic features, she was rather surprised to see that the people coming were black. They were not chocolate skinned black, but ebony black. Shaking her head, she said, "They're black."
"That's right."
Wondering if she suffered from some hidden prejudice that she hadn't know about, she asked, "How come I never heard of Jews that are black?"
"Ignorance," Oscar answered shrugging his shoulders.
Taking a modicum of offense at his answer, Georgia said, "I hate to think of myself as ignorant."
"Contrary to popular belief, ignorance is not a character flaw. The universe is a big place and there's a lot to know. We're all ignorant; it is just a question of degree. How can you be expected to know about a small group of people in a small country that's halfway around the world from where you grew up?" Oscar said watching the people enter the synagogue.
"Where did they come from?"
"According to legend, they are the descendants of Solomon and Sheba," Oscar said. Although they were speaking English, the last man to enter the synagogue looked at Oscar when he heard the last of his sentence. Switching to Amharic out of consideration for those who might be listening, he said, "We are currently in the part of Ethiopia that is often called Beta Israel."
"Beta Israel? Sounds like it means second Israel," Georgia said.
Nodding his head, Oscar said, "Legend says that they brought the Arc of the Covenant here after the fall of the Second Temple."
"Maybe we could look for Arc of the Covenant while we're here," Georgia said with a grin. She laughed and said, "Too bad your last name isn't Jones. I'd be Georgia Jones and could claim Indiana as a distant cousin."
Oscar looked away for a moment and then said, "I better go in now."
Georgia waited outside hearing the voice of Yahweh repeat the message that Oscar was to deliver to all who were willing to listen. She had heard that message hundreds of times, but each time it left her holding her breath. Not for the first time she wondered why the Gods had Oscar repeat the same message so many times.
When Oscar came out, she walked beside him to the Land Roamer. He was particularly quiet. After they had gotten into the Land Roamer, Oscar looked back at the synagogue and said, "You should have seen the looks on their faces."
"Why?" Georgia asked. He very seldom remarked on the reaction of the people to his message.
Oscar drove away while answering her question. "Israel recognized them as Jews in 1975, but still has expressed doubts that they are one of the lost tribes. As a result, they have to undergo a formal conversion to immigrate into Israel as Jews. Israel requires that whenever there is doubt about the Jewishness of the immigrant.
"The fact that Yahweh spoke in their synagogue eliminates all doubt that they are Jews. You might say that my presence and the message gave them a legitimacy that they never had in the eyes of the world."
Georgia was silent while she thought about his answer. In a soft voice, she said, "It seems to me that a lot more is being accomplished by your service than bringing peace to the Middle East. This is just one example where an entire group of people have been given a special gift."
Oscar smiled and said, "Yes. Our little friend, Mohammed, in Pakistan was selected to serve Allah for some great purpose. The young couple, whose wedding we attended, was told that their child was going to become a great leader. There have been lots of side effects to my service. The most obvious is that many of the young are returning to the religions of their parents."
"That's nice," Georgia said.
"The Powers That Be are subtle in their actions. I have no idea why things are done in the way they are, but I know there is a reason for it," Oscar said.
Georgia was quiet for several minutes and then asked, "Is Jewishness a word?"
"I don't know. If it isn't, then it should be," Oscar answered with a grin.
Looking at the cross on the building, Georgia said, "Ah, a church this time. I was wrong again."
"Yes, you were," Oscar answered. Georgia had started predicting the order of the religions he would visit and would write her guesses down on a piece of paper. She claimed that the number she got right during the day was the minimal number of orgasms he had to give her that night.
"You're doing that on purpose," she accused. She looked down at her sheet of paper at her prediction. She had predicted church, synagogue, mosque, and then church. So far that day, they had visited a synagogue, mosque, and now a church.
"No, I'm not," Oscar said.
Pouting she said, "At this rate, you won't have to give me an orgasm tonight."
Grinning at her, he asked, "Does that mean I'll get some sleep tonight?"
She stuck her tongue out at him and said, "Not if I'm right on the next guess."
"We'll see," Oscar said getting out of the Land Roamer. The big vehicle wasn't the only one suited for the terrain over which they were traveling, but it was their first choice for their trip. A Hugger could have served, but the back end of the Land Roamer provided a nice place to sleep.
Georgia waited inside the Land Roamer enjoying the air conditioner and absence of flies. Even inside the vehicle she could hear Jehovah giving Oscar his message. She watched the local people make their way to the church. It was a sight that she had seen hundreds of times.
The expressions on their faces were indescribable. It was more than awe. There was a touch of fear to the expression, but just a touch. There was also a tinge of bliss. She wondered what expression a person should have on their face when they heard their God speak. She pulled out her camera and took a picture of the crowd.
With a smile that was a little larger than normal, Oscar returned to the vehicle and said, "Onwards to the next one."
"Which direction are we heading?" Georgia asked wondering why he was smiling like that. He looked like he was hiding something from her.
"Northeast to the Hadar region and then onto Axum," Oscar answered with a grin. Steering the Land Roamer down the dusty trail that constituted a road in the region, he left the small town behind them. At the face she made at the idea of visiting another area that was filled with lots of nothing, he said, "We'll have a slight detour through Addis Abeba."
"What is in Addis Abeba?" Georgia asked thinking that two and two was suddenly adding up to three. They normally stayed out of the larger cities.
"Debbie," Oscar answered.
"What?" Georgia screamed sitting up and turning to face Oscar.
"Well, she will be if you get on the telephone with Jennifer and arrange for her to meet us there. She finished her practicum project yesterday. She can meet us there tomorrow," Oscar said.
Getting excited at the prospect of seeing their wife again, Georgia said, "Why didn't you tell me before? Stop this crate so that I can get out the satellite phone and make the call."
"I wanted to get out of town so that you could line up the satellite dish without attracting a crowd," Oscar answered before pulling off the road.
Debbie looked out the window of the Land Roamer and then over at Georgia seated beside her. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Why is he stopping here? There isn't a building within thirty miles of here."
Oscar turned around so that he was facing the two women in the back seats. He said, "It is almost lunch time. Let's have a little picnic here and then we'll turn around to get to Axum."
They had just driven hours out of their way just to turn around? It didn't make sense to Georgia. She asked, "Why here?"
"I'll explain while we're eating," Oscar answered. He turned and exited the Land Roamer.
While he headed around to the rear of the vehicle to get a blanket and some food, Debbie asked, "Does he do things like this very often?"
"From time to time," Georgia answered looking out the window for something that would suggest the reason for stopping. She could see nothing except for rough terrain with scattered brush. Shaking her head, she said, "Oscar occasionally gets very philosophical. I think he's in one of those moods."
"Is that bad?" Debbie asked.
"Actually, I enjoy them," Georgia answered. She realized that Debbie had never been with Oscar on one of these little journeys.
The two women joined Oscar on the blanket he had laid down on the ground. After handing each a bottle of water, Oscar pointed to their surroundings and said, "This is where it began."
"Where what began?" Debbie asked.
"Our journey," Oscar answered. He handed out an MRE each to his wives. Seeing that they were staring at him blankly, he explained, "This is where it all began. This is where the first human lived."
Surprised, Debbie asked, "Is this where they found Lucy?"
"We are close to the spot where they found Lucy," Oscar answered. He sighed and said, "Scientists think that they can find when human beings began by examining skeletons. Lucy is the oldest fossil they've found that fits the profile of upright primate. They are wrong if they think that is when we became human. They can track our species through skeletal remains, but skeletal remains describe the structural history. It doesn't tell them when we became human."
"So when did we become human?" Georgia asked.
Oscar answered, "The moment when we discovered the Powers That Be. Until that time, we were animals. Life consisted of eating, sleeping, and breeding. We huddled together to keep away the cold at night. We shivered in fear at the roar of the lion. Life was sensation and reaction to sensation. It was simple existence and survival.
"Then one day, we discovered the Powers That Be. Life still consisted of eating, sleeping, and breeding, but there was a little something else. There was knowledge that we were not alone in the cold of night. We moved from a physical existence to having a metaphysical existence. That's when we became different than the animals. That was the day when we became human.
"It wasn't that the Powers That Be discovered us; they knew all about us since it was they who created us. We discovered them and that is an amazing thing. I don't know if they built the ability to discover them into us. When it comes to explaining them, I have to raise my hands in defeat and say that the Powers That Be defy my understanding.
"Still, our discovery of the Powers That Be is amazing. As far as I know, no other animal has accomplished that. No cow, monkey, parrot, or trout has ever erected a statue seeking the approval of a God."
Georgia laughed and said, "I can see a trout trying to raise a statue to God."
Oscar shrugged his shoulders and said, "Perhaps one day a trout will discover God. That will be the day that trout stop being animals and become Trout, with a capital T. I think it is arrogance on our part to think that can never happen."
Debbie nodded her head and said, "I have heard Yahweh, Jehovah, and Allah speak to you. I believe in the Gods and Goddesses. I know they exist, but my training as a scientist says that is not enough. Until it is recorded, analyzed, and understood, my experience is suspect. Actually, to be more precise — my explanation of my experience is suspect. Until I can create the conditions in which they can repeat my experience, then my experience is discounted."
Oscar said, "I remember a quote of Galileo - I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
"I think that all scientists who believe in God agree with that statement. Scientists, who do not believe in God, believe only in sense, reason, and intellect. To them, all mysteries of life can be explained using sense, reason, and intellect. If God exists, then his existence can be proved," Debbie said.
"Since they can not prove his existence then God must not exist," Oscar said.
"Exactly," Debbie said.
"Science only accepts half of the endowments that the Powers That Be have given us. That is a weakness of science. I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with desires, feelings, and emotion has intended us to forgo their use," Oscar said.
"Your statement presupposes the existence of God," Georgia said looking down at the MRE and realizing that none of them had started eating.
Oscar was silent for a minute while he considered her comment. Gesturing to the MREs, he said, "Start eating. I'll be right back."
"Okay," Georgia said. She looked over at Debbie when he had stepped away and asked, "Having fun?"
"Yes, actually I am," Debbie answered. She looked down at the package and tore it open. She dumped the contents out on the blanket while Georgia did the same thing. Looking at the food in her pile and in Georgia's pile, she said, "I'll trade you my peaches for your fruit cocktail."
Handing the can over, Georgia said, "You know. Oscar and I have been eating these things for a year. We've never swapped food."
"You're kidding?" Debbie asked handing over her can of peaches. She picked up the container of spaghetti and glanced down at the heating instructions.
"Nope, I never even thought of it," Georgia answered looking at her Chicken Teriyaki.
The two women were waiting for the food to finish warming up when Oscar returned with a pad and paper. Ignoring their interest in what he was doing, he stared off into space for a minute before writing something down on the pad of paper. Once he had finished writing, he looked up at Debbie and asked, "Do you think that one in two to the tenth power is small enough odds that an event like that demands scientific explanation?"
"Sure," Debbie answered.
Handing the pad of paper to Georgia and a coin to Debbie, he said, "Flip the coin ten times and call out if it is heads or tails each time. Georgia will compare the results against my predictions."
They performed the experiment. Oscar's predications were completely correct. Of course, both of them knew that he had gained William's ability to see the future and had expected that result. Oscar asked "How would a scientist go about analyzing and understanding what just happened if we had documented it using film?"
Debbie looked over at Oscar for a second and said, "What you just did is basically impossible. They'd search for evidence that you cheated."
"But I didn't cheat so there would be no evidence that I had," Oscar said.
"They'd have to assume that they missed it," Debbie said.
"How about if I were to volunteer to repeat the experiment?"
Debbie shrugged her shoulders and said, "They'd want to do it under controlled conditions."
"And if I was successful?" Oscar asked.
"They'd examine the experiment to identify the flaws," Debbie answered.
"When would they become convinced that I could see the future?"
Debbie thought about it for a minute and then answered, "They'd be convinced fairly easily, but they'd never claim that you had proved that you could see the future."
"That's my point. On one hand, scientists pretty much demand a deterministic world in which experiments are repeatable regardless of who performs them. If one person can predict the future, then any person can predict the future. On the other hand, they demand a world in which things are indeterminate until observed. The future doesn't exist until it occurs.
"If they observe something that is too counter to previous observations, then the new observations are wrong. They exist in the arena of pseudo-science. We all know that people can't predict the future, so any experiment that demonstrates it must have been improperly set up or executed," Oscar said.
Georgia looked up at Oscar as things suddenly fell into place. She said, "That's how you got into trouble in Las Vegas!"
"Guilty as charged," Oscar said.
Debbie asked, "Guilty of what?"
"Let's eat," Oscar answered changing the subject. He grabbed his MRE and opened it.
It was with great effort that Oscar managed to avoid telling about his adventure in Las Vegas. Georgia thought about the money that had been mentioned in the letter from William and suspected that she knew what happened. If that story came out, tears would follow. Rather than spoil the moment, she helped direct Debbie's attention away from the subject.
After Oscar ate his canned pears using the spork that came in the MRE, he said, "I would have liked to have been here when we became Humans."
"Why?"
"I just have so much trouble imagining it. I mean, what happened? Was some Joe just walking along with his troop of fellow whatevers and discover suddenly that he was face to face with a God or a Goddess?" Oscar asked.
"It was probably a hermit," Georgia said looking over at Oscar. If she recalled correctly, most holy men of ancient times were hermits until they met their God or Goddess.
"You might be right. Joe is sitting around all by himself. One day, he discovers that he isn't alone. The real question is - how does he convince others," Debbie said trying to imagine the scene. She could imagine a cave man trying to convey the concept of a God or Goddess through grunts and pantomime.
Georgia said, "Maybe he was given a gift that convinced them."
"What gift?" Debbie asked.
Oscar thought for a minute trying to identify a gift that could truly convince people of the existence of the Powers That Be. When the answer came to him, Oscar burst out laughing. At the blank stares of his wives, he asked, "How about the ability to see the future?"
"Of course," Debbie said bursting into laughter. The irony of using prophecy to demonstrate a weakness of science and to prove the existence of God to primitive men was just too much for her.
Georgia wasn't laughing. Looking over at Oscar, she said, "Prophecy
is the one gift of the Gods and Goddesses that is written about the
most in all religions."